It's the biggest game in FAU history and the first official Owls sellout in FAU Stadium history. As part of FAU-Miami week, presented by Ed Morse Automotive Group, your favorite ESPN West Palm personalities pick tonight's game.

Josh Cohen -- Host of Josh Cohen & The HomeTeam

Prediction: Miami 35, FAU 17

Just as Clubber Lang responded when asked for a "prediction" in Rocky III, "My prediction? PAIN..."

Evan Cohen -- Host Weekdays 4p-6p

Prediction: FAU 21, Miami 20

Regardless of the result, this is the biggest game that FAU has ever played in their home stadium. We will have a sell out on Friday night in Boca. That is a win for the FAU program no matter what the score is.

Joe Colella -- Host Weekdays 4p-6p and High School Hysteria

Prediction: Miami 31, FAU 14

FAU's improved talent level is still a year or two away from really scaring the Canes. I'd love for the Owls to take it, but I think we're jumping the gun a little on that.

Stephanie Prince -- Star of Fite Shavell Top 5 at 5

Prediction: FAU 21, Miami 20

FAU scores a field goal right at the end of the game – wait does that add up right?!

Brian Rowitz -- Producer, Weekdays 4p-6p and FAU Pre-Game Host

--Brian did not pick the game because of his position with FAU broadcast team but offers key to game below:

Start fast -- FAU over the last couple years has had trouble closing games on the road but those problems haven’t really existed at home. The energy from the home crowd at kickoff is going to be something this team has never experienced and they will have to feed off it instead of working against it. Since Al Golden took over at Miami, the 'Canes are just 5-18 when trailing at the half. An early touchdown will prove to FAU that they have what it takes to hang with the U and then who knows what that can turn into.

JMP -- Host, ESPN West Palm Tonight

Prediction: FAU 31, Miami 27.

There is not a football argument that can probably be made for FAU being superior to Miami, but I cannot get the image out of my head of Charlie Partridge taking a victory lap around FAU Stadium like Russell Crowe in Gladiator following the slaying of the Canes and Al Golden.

Emerson Lotzia -- ESPN 106.3 on WPTV Anchor

Prediction: Miami 42, FAU 35.

Owls have the offense to hang, but their defense will struggle to slow down Miami's studs. I REALLY hope FAU proves me wrong because there's nothing I'd like more than to see Charlie Partridge and company crush the Canes inside FAU Stadium.

Ian Hest -- ESPN 106.3 on WPTV Anchor

Prediction: Miami 38, FAU 13.

While this is no doubt a talented FAU team, it is in the unenviable situation of having its weakness face Miami's strength. For years, the Canes have lived off of the big play on offense, and I expect QB Brad Kaaya to do the same on Friday, which still seems to be a crux for the Owls defense. Miami's much improved D-Line could make it a long night for Quez Johnson as well, as FAU continues to find the right fit for the pieces along its offensive line.

Kelley Bydlon -- ESPN 106.3 on WPTV Executive Producer

Prediction: Miami 48, FAU 27

With the biggest game in school history about to take place on their Boca Raton campus, this is not a good week for FAU to be dealing with a lot of injuries... and unfortunately for the Owls, they are. Miami also dealing with injuries, but their depth and excellent quarterback play from Brad Kaaya should prove to be the difference in this one. Expect a high scoring affair, but in the end Miami cruises to a 48-27 win.

Wells Dusenbury -- ESPN West Palm High School Writer

Prediction: Miami 42, FAU 20.

FAU's defense struggled in the season opener, allowing 47 points to a Tulsa squad that finished 2-10 a year ago. That doesn't bode well for Friday night as the Owls welcome in one of the country's top young quarterbacks in sophomore Brad Kaaya. I think FAU can put some points up on Miami's defense, but I don't think the Owls will be able to score enough to notch the upset victory.

Jordan Sherwood -- Host, Inside the Cage

Prediction: Miami 28, FAU 17

In the biggest game of FAU's program history, Charlie Partridge shows that he has the Owl program on the right track, as they hang tough with instate rival Miami until a late 4th quarter score by the Canes.

Almost fourteen years ago Larry Coker was on top of the football world. Now, Coker is more than content with his more inconspicuous life as the head coach at upstart Texas-San Antonio.

After six seasons in charge of the final years of University of Miami college football legitimacy, including leading the 2001 squad that claimed the school's last national championship, Coker will return to South Florida on Saturday as his Roadrunners take on Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton.

He joined Evan Cohen on ESPN 106.3 in West Palm Beach, Fla. on Thursday afternoon and admitted that wins, even under-the-radar ones, are celebrated a bit more at UTSA than they were, and are, at Miami.

“They appreciate it a little more [in San Antonio],” Coker told Cohen.

UTSA, in its fourth year of competitive football and first at the FBS level, tasked Coker with building a football program and he's developed it into a squad that won seven games last year in its transition to Division I. The Roadrunners are 1-2 entering Saturday's contest in Boca, but one of those losses was a near upset of Arizona.

Coker is grateful for the level-headed mindset that comes with running a mid-major program like UTSA's as opposed to his previous gig with the high-pressure Hurricanes.

“Sometimes expectations are more realistic at a program like we're in now,” said Coker. “I don't know, maybe at Miami, maybe they're not all that realistic. Certainly [the expectation] is to win every game and play in national championships every year, which usually doesn't happen.

“The thing that you see here is that we've won one game and played Arizona in a tough game and lost to Oklahoma State and people have been pretty pleased and they've been playing pretty well. Different expectations right now.”

Coker was fired at UM after a disastrous end to 2005 and subsequent 2006 season that saw the Hurricanes suffer a 40-3 Peach Bowl loss to LSU, the tragic murder of defensive lineman Bryan Pata, a nationally-televised blowout defeat at the hands of Louisville, the high-profile brawl against FIU and a four-game losing streak.

When asked if he had any ill-will against the school that made his name a household one, Coker didn't hesitate to take the high road.

“I don't think so. They wanted to make a change. That's their prerogative and I respect that.”

Coker also understands the weight placed on his shoulders in Coral Gables.

“Expectations were high. I knew that going in. You win five national championships in that short amount of time, that's pretty hard to top.”

Saturday's FAU-UTSA kickoff is at 5:00 p.m. It can be heard on ESPN West Palm (106.3 FM), the flagship for Florida Atlantic football, with coverage beginning at 4:00 p.m.

Florida Atlantic University and ESPN West Palm (106.3 FM) will kick-off the 2014-15 athletic seasons with the year’s first Coaches Show on Monday, Aug. 25 from 6 to 7 p.m. The partnership will continue throughout the year with the most expansive FAU radio coverage in the tri-county area.

“ESPN 106.3, Ken LaVicka and Florida Atlantic University have become synonymous in our South Florida market,” said Pat Chun, FAU’s vice president and director of athletics. “We are proud to partner with the top sports radio station in our region. We look forward to another year of great moments and memories – all captured on ESPN 106.3.”

LaVicka, the voice of FAU football and men’s basketball, will serve as the host for the weekly Coaches Show. The first six shows will be live from The Burrow Bar & Grill, an on-campus restaurant in FAU’s Student Union, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. FAU Head Football Coach Charlie Partridge, as well as members of the Owls’ football team, will join LaVicka each Monday night from 6 to 7 p.m. to recap the previous week and preview the upcoming week all on ESPN 106.3.

ESPN West Palm’s (106.3 FM) coverage on game day will begin on Saturday, Sept. 13, with an hour-long pregame show just outside of the FAU Stadium team store, and will be hosted by Joe Colella, producer of “Josh Cohen & The HomeTeam” (Monday through Friday, from noon to 2 p.m.) and co-host of “High School Hysteria” on ESPN 106.3. LaVicka will return to the broadcast booth for the fifth-straight year with the call of the game.

FAU alumnus and 2006 Defensive MVP Kris Bartels, along with former San Francisco 49ers head coach and former FAU assistant coach Fred O’Connor (home games only) will join LaVicka for the game day broadcast. Brian Rowitz, producer of the “Evan Cohen Show” (Monday through Friday, from 4 to 6 p.m.), will be back as the engineer on game days and as a co-host during the pregame, halftime and post-game shows alongside Colella. Special in-game segments will include interviews hosted by FAU junior defensive lineman Brandin Bryant.

Both the FAU Coaches Show and the football games can be heard digitally on the free ESPN Radio app by selecting ESPN West Palm Beach under the listen live section and on www.fausports.com.

Throughout the week, “ESPN West Palm Tonight” (Monday through Friday, from 6 to 7 p.m.) will highlight FAU sports through interviews with each of FAU’s head coaches. FAU football will open the 2014 season on Saturday, Aug. 30 at the University of Nebraska, with the game broadcast on the Big Ten Network. The Owls home season will kick-off on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. versus Tulsa at FAU Stadium, which will be televised by Fox College Sports.

For season tickets, which start as low as $50, call 1-866-FAU-Owls. All FAU games will be carried on ESPN West Palm 106.3, which has an APP for the Smart Phone platform, and on www.fausports.com.

Florida Atlantic Radio TeamKen LaVicka @KLV1063• Ken LaVicka has been a part of the Florida Atlantic University broadcast team since 2009 and the full-time football play-by-play voice of FAU since 2011. In addition to football, LaVicka has called all FAU men’s basketball games since 2009, including the University’s Sun Belt Championship game in 2010-11. He began broadcasting FAU hoops games in 2007. LaVicka once again will serve as host to the FAU Coaches Show featuring FAU Head Football Coach Charlie Partridge throughout football season, and FAU Head Men’s Basketball Coach Michael Curry when basketball season begins. LaVicka has periodically called FAU women’s basketball and was the announcer when the Owls baseball team made its memorable run in the 2013 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional. A regular emcee at FAU events, he was on hand for the 2011 football stadium dedication and has covered the transition into C-USA. In addition to his FAU duties, LaVicka works as a co-host on the “Evan Cohen Show” (Monday through Friday, from 4 to 6 p.m.) on ESPN 106.3 FM and is a contributor to ESPNWestPalm.com

Fred O’Connor• Fred O’Connor brings coaching experience to the FAU booth. In addition to serving as an instrumental inaugural FAU football staff member, O’Connor has made numerous stops across the nation. Those stops began in 1962 and include Southern Miss, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Maryland and more. He joined the FAU broadcast team in 2006 and provides analysis that is second to none.

Kris Bartels @KrisBartels• Kris Bartels joined the Owls football team in the spring of 2004. Work ethic and persistence was the key to Bartels becoming an integral member of the University’s first football conference championship and bowl team in 2007. The Broward County native was the team’s 2006 Defensive MVP and a second team all-conference selection. Since his graduation, Bartels has served as a teacher and high school football coach. This will be his second season on the broadcast team.

Brian Rowitz @BRowitz• Brian Rowitz has been involved with FAU football since 2007, working with the University’s student radio station for the 2007 and 2008 season. Rowitz assumed the FAU Radio Network engineer duties in 2009 and has expanded his duties each year since. Currently, he oversees the broadcast and can be heard along with ESPN West Palm’s Joe Colella on the pregame, halftime and postgame shows. Rowitz is the producer for the “Evan Cohen Show” (Monday through Friday, from 4 to 6 p.m.) on ESPN 106.3 FM among other duties at the station.

Joe Colella @JoeC1063• Joe Colella has been a member of the ESPN West Palm staff since 2011. A graduate of the University of Florida, Colella currently is a part of “Josh Cohen and The HomeTeam” weekdays from noon to 2 p.m. and host of “High School Hysteria” on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. Colella can be heard giving updates on the station throughout the day. This is his second year with the FAU Radio Network.

FAU Stadium Field to be Named in Honorof Legendary Football Coach Howard Schnellenberger

BOCA RATON, Fla.(Aug. 20, 2014) – Howard Schnellenberger built his legendary coaching career and was the driving force that helped Florida Atlantic University build a football stadium. Now, the field on which the Owls play their home games will bear the name of one of college football’s most accomplished program-builders.

The field at FAU Stadium on the University’s Boca Raton campus will be named Howard Schnellenberger Field, honoring the man who coached the Owls during their first 11 seasons and retired after the 2011 campaign with 158 victories during 27 years as a head coach at four Football Bowl Subdivision institutions.

FAU’s Board of Trustees approved the new field name during a conference call on Wednesday, Aug. 20.

“I am humbled beyond belief that the University would bestow this great honor on the Schnellenberger family, and me personally,” said Schnellenberger. “This is probably the highlight of my coaching career. Thanks to the FAU Board of Trustees, the University, the fans, the players and the coaches that were an integral part of this.”

A ceremony to honor Schnellenberger will be held prior to the Owls’ first home game of the season at FAU Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 13. FAU President John Kelly also will make a special presentation at halftime. FAU hosts Tulsa, with the kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. It will be the fourth season for the Owls in the 29,419-seat on-campus stadium.

“Coach Schnellenberger is a legend – a true visionary who always will be synonymous with FAU football,” said FAU President John Kelly. “The University, the community, and fans of college football everywhere look to Coach as the consummate leader, and are thankful for all he has done for the sport. I know FAU will always remember this as we cheer our team on the beautiful field that will forever bear his name.”

Schnellenberger welcomed the idea of bringing football to FAU in 1998. During his tenure as FAU’s coach, the Owls garnered two bowl victories and one Sun Belt Conference championship. Twenty of his FAU players have signed professional contracts, with five drafted by the National Football League.

An assistant coach on the Miami Dolphins’ 1972 undefeated Super Bowl championship team, Schnellenberger made his greatest mark in the collegiate ranks. His career has been highly chronicled throughout the years, from winning the first national championship as coach at the University of Miami in 1983 to ushering the University of Louisville program from near obscurity to a top 20 national ranking. Schnellenberger went 6-0 as a head coach in bowl games, the most bowl victories for a coach with a perfect record.

After reaching the goal of bringing football to FAU – the Owls played its inaugural season in 1999 – Schnellenberger embarked on the challenge of getting a stadium built in order to move the program to the next level. FAU Stadium opened on Oct. 15, 2011, with the Owls hosting Western Kentucky. The open-air stadium features 6,000 premium seats, including 24 suites, 26 loge boxes, 1,000 premier club seats and 4,000 priority club seats.

“We are thankful we have the opportunity to honor Coach Schnellenberger with the naming of our football field,” said Pat Chun, FAU’s vice president and director of athletics. “As our first football coach, he forever changed Florida Atlantic University. To permanently honor Coach Schnellenberger will serve as a great reminder to all who enter our stadium of his vision, impact and legacy.”

Schnellenberger played for Paul “Bear” Bryant at the University of Kentucky and served as an assistant to Bryant at the University of Alabama. He was an assistant to NFL Hall of Fame coaches George Allen (Los Angeles Rams) and Don Shula (Dolphins), and served as head coach of the Baltimore Colts during the 1973 season and of three games in 1974.

Schnellenberger was hired as FAU’s director of football operations on May 1, 1998. He coached FAU’s inaugural game on Sept. 1, 2001, against Slippery Rock at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. Under Schnellenberger’s leadership, the Owls won the New Orleans Bowl in 2007, marking the quickest a program had advanced to a bowl game after moving to Division I-A, which was later renamed the Football Bowl Subdivision. FAU also won the Motor City Bowl the following season.

- FAU -

Florida Atlantic University Athletics:

FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, indoor volleyball, sand volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA. The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and have captured two bowl games. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally.

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of three signature themes – marine and coastal issues, biotechnology and contemporary societal challenges – which provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship.

Michael Curry: “Having worked in the NBA as a player, coach and league official, I am proud that the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver have taken an active approach in ensuring that the views expressed by Donald Sterling will not be tolerated.

The NBA has always stressed inclusion, tolerance and understanding. It is clear by its actions today that the NBA intends to continue with that philosophy. And while the league has made great strides in that area, this incident reminds us that there is still work to be done.

Hopefully, the league’s actions will remind everyone that divisive and extreme opinions have no place in the NBA and that the league, its players and fans can move forward focused on what unites us: an undying love for the game of basketball.”

New FAU head football coach Charlie Partridge let ESPN 106.3 on WPTV NewsChannel 5 mic him up during a recent spring football practice. The former Pitt, Wisconsin, and Arkansas assistant is in his first year as the boss of the Owls and he recently put together the best recruiting class in school history this past signing period. Take a listen to what is sounds like during a Coach Partridge-run practice.